Sunday, November 27, 2011

18 Months

Amelia's 18 month "birthday" was last week, so I thought it would be a good time for some updates.  At her check up she weighed 24lbs 6oz (50th percentile) and was 34" tall (95th percentile!). Doctor Rice says she's still "tall and skinny" - hee hee:)  She did great for her two shots and was glad to get a sticker afterwards (she picked Spiderman).

She's got all her teeth, except her two-year molars, which she's been working on like crazy.  I can't wait until those come in and we can be done with new teeth for a while!


Although Amelia has her own ideas about what she wants (have I mentioned that she's a bit stubborn?), she adores her big brother and repeats everything he says and mimics his every action.

She talks so much now that I can't keep up with how many words she is saying anymore (could it be thousands already?).  Here are a few things she said to me just this morning in the half hour after waking up:
"I'na go downstairs, see Marley." (First thing she says every morning.)
"Open eyes, mama!" (Repeatedly.  I wasn't ready to get up yet.)
"You going pee pee (on) big potty, Mama?" (I was indeed.)
"I'na do drawing (with) markers." (She's ready for the day's activities to begin!)
"No, mama, no!  I don't like it!  Let go, mama!" (She's not so excited about diaper changes these days.)

Things I love about her baby talk:
*She leaves off the 'p' in the middle of words/phrases.  Diaper = di-er.  Oopsie = oo-sie.  Happy = ha-ee.  Stop it! = Stah it!
*She uses an 's' sound when it should be an 'f'.  Elephant = elesant.  Off = oss.  Different = dissent.
*The way she says Marley's name (Mah-ee), which was one of her very first words, and her own name (Mih), which she didn't even attempt until about a month ago.
*She says 'has' when she means 'have'.  "Can I has that?"
*She doesn't use articles or prepositions, but she does use pronouns correctly.  "I has go poo poo potty!"


Some other things Amelia's into right now:
*Playing with baby dolls, dressing and undressing them, diapering and nursing them (though she usually brings them to me to nurse.)
*Playing dress up, especially trying on different shoes.  She's been obsessed with shoes for months, now.
*Wearing her brother's clothes, especially his underwear (can't wait to share that one at her wedding!)
*Reading.  There are several books that she knows most of the words to - Sandra Boynton's Opposites comes to mind.
*Sitting on the potty.  She's actually gone in the potty (both pee and poop!) several times, though I'm not ready to make the leap to full time underwear just yet.
*Picking Marley up from preschool, and getting to participate in the last few minutes of music time.


She does not like:
*Being left behind when anyone goes somewhere.  Usually she's grabbing her shoes in a panic and saying, "I need shoes on!  I need shoes on!"  It's so sad!
*Eating breakfast.  Perhaps because there's usually no meat.  She's such a meat eater!
*Having hair in her face.
*Getting a hair-do that takes longer than 3 seconds (see photos above for my 3 second hair-do).
*Being away from Marley.  She loves her brother so much!

One more language anecdote:
She always amazes us with her vocabulary.  Jeff and I are constantly looking at each other in wonder whenever she says something new.  For example, the other night when we put up our tree Amelia was already in bed.  Jeff brought her down the next morning to show her.  Before he said anything, she pointed at it and said, "Christmas Tree." 

I can't wait to see what she does next!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thankful

This morning was one of those mornings. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to cry or scream as I was interrupted during every task, from fixing breakfast to taking a shower, by needy, exuberant, or 'helpful' children. All I wanted to do was get ready so we could join our friends for Thanksgiving! Luckily, Jeff, who was equally interrupted all morning, took a moment to see things from their perspective. And here's what they looked like:


They weren't busy planning, packing, cooking, cleaning, or getting ready.  They were busy being.  Simply being.  Yes, I realize that all those things are things that need to be done.  And, a lot of the time, I'm the one that has to do them.  But, while interruptions slow me down, and extra 'helpers' often make more work for me.  I never, EVER want my kids to feel bad for simply being there.  Because what is an annoying interruption to me is life to them.  And when I look at it that way, the annoyance melts away and leaves only thankfulness.


Marley is thankful for:
"Carden, Henry, Cindy, Jada, Amelia, group hugs, regular hugs, group kisses, regular kisses, our new door, my room, my special paint and paint brushes, baking cookies and eating them, my jack-o-lantern, and the bulbs we planted."

Amelia is thankful for:
"Pumpkin, cat, meow, kitty, (and) drawing (on) paper."
Marley adds that "she's also thankful for doggies because she points at every dog."

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Big girl bed

The time comes in every little girl's life when she moves out of her parents' bed, and onto a mattress on the floor 20 feet away. Okay, maybe not every little girl.





And her crib is still available should she ever feel the need to join us for an early morning nap in an awkward position.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Burke Museum

We've gone to the Burke Museum several times this summer and fall after visiting Daddy at work, and have really enjoyed ourselves. The kids always love looking at the dinosaur bones, but this trip was especially fun for my little dress-up kids. The Carnaval! exhibit had an entire section filled with carnival themed hats, masks and clothing. It was so much fun! These guys crack me up!






Saturday, November 5, 2011

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Timber!

This was a tree my brother, Patrick, planted in our backyard when he was about 4 years old. My mom says that it never did really well there, and finally died a while back. She decided it was time for it to go.  Sarah helped take it down.  Ever the creative one, my mom plans to convert the tree stump into a bird bath.  We'll be waiting for pictures of the finished product!






Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Halloween, The Conclusion

By the time Halloween arrived, Marley and Amelia were old pros at dressing up and trick-or-treating.  Our good friends, the Harrison's, came over and we all headed out to trick-or-treat at the Admiral Junction.  Then, it was back home for dinner, and out again to trick-or-treat around the neighborhood.  


Not a very good shot of it, but my mom crocheted my Angry Birds hat.  Jeff was wearing one, too, and we got lots of comments.  I'll have to get a better shot of them, because they're pretty cute!

Trick or Treat!

Miles, Amelia, Marley, and Jada show off their loot. 

Halloween, Part II

I forgot to bring the camera with me on Sunday, so we're just stuck with these crappy phone pictures. At our friend, Annie's, 3rd birthday party. The kids were excited to play in a big box that held some of Annie's presents. Second most fun thing: the bubble wrap:)


Marley and Amelia enjoyed the chocolate cake!


After Annie's party, we headed over to the Huson's Halloween party. The kids played pin the nose on the pumpkin, pumpkin ring toss and bobbed for apples, among other things.



By the time we got home at 8:30, both kids were sound asleep. Another fun day!